Jose Mourinho’s top rants, as Manchester United set to swoop to land the Special One
SunSport runs down Portuguese boss' best ever tirades as he is set to take over the reins from the sacked Louis van Gaal
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JOSE MOURINHO is the nailed-on choice to succeed Louis van Gaal as Manchester United boss.
The former Chelsea man, 55, has been linked with taking the Old Trafford reins since his December departure from Stamford Bridge.
But what can we expect from the Portuguese chief in Manchester?
Well, one thing is for certain: The Special one is not a man to hold his tongue.
Love him or hate him, you cannot help but chuckle, wince or hide behind the sofa at the Portuguese’s Press conference pot-shots.
To celebrate his potential new gig, SunSport takes a look at some of his most famous rants from over the years.
PRESS OFF!
DURING the 2005 Carling Cup Final against Liverpool — a game the Blues won — Mourinho was sent to the stands for provocatively putting a finger to his lips.
After the game, the Portuguese boss said: “I don’t regret it.
“The only thing I have to understand is I’m in England, so maybe even when I think I am not wrong, I have to adapt to your country and I have to respect that.
“I have a lot of respect for Liverpool fans and what I did, the sign of silence — ‘shut your mouth’ — was not for them, it was for the English Press.”
Duly noted Jose...
SORE LUIS-ER?
LATER in 2005, the Special One couldn’t keep schtum after a Champions League semi-final clash — again against Rafa Benitez’s Reds.
In the crunch return leg at Anfield after a goal-less encounter at Stamford Bridge, Luis Garcia famously scored to send Liverpool to the final in Istanbul.
The ghost goal sparked controversy and Mourinho is not a man to hold his tongue.
He said: “I felt the power of Anfield, it was magnificent.
“I felt it didn’t interfere with my players but maybe it interfered with other people and maybe it interfered with the result.
“You should ask the linesman why he gave a goal.
“Because, to give a goal, the ball must be 100 per cent in and he must be 100 per cent sure that the ball is in.”
Are you listening Lubos Michel?
RIJK-HARD TO TAKE
FOLLOWING his side’s loss to Barcelona in 2006, Jose was slapped with a two-game touchline ban for questioning the integrity of the referee — again.
He said: “When I saw Frank Rijkaard entering the referee’s dressing room I couldn’t believe it.
“When Didier Drogba was sent off [after half-time] I wasn’t surprised.”
This essentially ruined the career of ref Anders Frisk, who quit soon after.
One less for the Christmas card list...
ARSENE THE SPECIALIST...
... IN FAILURE, that is. Or at least according to our man Mourinho.
Early into his second term at the helm, the Special One described Arsene Wenger as a “specialist in failure” after he downplayed his side’s chances of winning the league.
This isn’t the first time Mourinho has had words for Wenger.
In 2005, the acid-tongued boss described the Frenchman as a “voyeur”.
He said: “I think he is one of these people who is a voyeur. He likes to watch other people.
“There are some guys who, when they are at home, have a big telescope to see what happens in other families.
"He speaks, speaks, speaks about Chelsea.”
MOO-RINHO?
EARLY in the 2014-15 campaign Mourinho put his side’s first loss of the year at the hands of Newcastle down to the Toon parking the bus.
Or is it cow?
The mouthy manager said after being asked if he would have adopted similar tactics to guard the lead: “No. With anything?
“You may as well put a cow in the middle of the pitch. And then stop the game because there was a cow.
“You cannot do just anything in football. You have to defend with your ten men, put the ten men on the goal line, park the bus, but football needs a ball.
“Not two or zero. Do what you can to win but not everything.
“Sometimes there were zero balls and that cuts the dynamic of the team who is trying to win the game.”
ORDERING A CHINESE, JOSE?
BACK in the 2014-15 season, during a draw with Burnley, the Blues had a number of penalty shouts and other incidents go against them, such as Nemanja Matic’s red card.
Jose was cryptic in his assessment, simply listing the numbers “30”, “33”, “43” and “69”.
Those numbers referred to the minutes of key incidents in question, but came out more like he was on the phone to his local takeaway.
Apparently Jose fancied a chicken chow mein, crispy chilli beef, some spring rolls and an egg fried rice...